Diana M. Gray

JUST IMAGINE HEAVEN

"No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him." - 1 Corinthians 2:9

Today, I lost my best friend, my mother, Diana M. Gray. At age 77, Mom lost her battle with small cell lung cancer, which migrated to the brain. Mom always wanted to get the word out to those of you who smoke: "It can happen to you! QUIT!"

Her devoted husband of 60 years, Gary A. Gray; her son, Zane Gray (Karen); her daughter, Rhonda Bach (Ron); her adopted son, Mike Nutting; her sister, Pamela Brewster (Steve); her two grandsons, Seanesy and Chase survive Mom. Mom has two great-granddaughters, Anika and Eliza. Her parents, Stanley and Evelyn Jacobson, and her sister Patricia preceded her in death.

Mom was born on Oct. 5, 1939, in Billings. She was Grampa's little tomboy. She was always out with him nailing boards, sheet rocking or up on a roof laying shingles. Boy, that woman could swing a hammer!

She married Dad, right into another construction family so she was still out there swinging a hammer. When she had us kids, Dad had to go on the road to work, so she focused on raising us. We were definitely a handful. As we got to school age, she took us and neighborhood kids to and participated in all of our activities. It was not uncommon for Mom to get up in the morning and find a group of teenagers lying on the floor watching cartoons. We had the house that all the kids wanted to come to. In our adult years, Zane and Karen gave Mom two wonderful grandsons whom she helped raise. They had the same rules we did: "Hurry up and get your homework done so we can go play in the mud." I gave her five beautiful grandcats.

Mom was a very artsy fartsy person. She could create anything from a school volcano to crocheting afghans every Christmas. She excelled in oil and acrylic painting. She could easily whip out a beautiful pencil sketching. When Mom finished a piece, Dad would always tell her that it was now HIS painting. Mom would joke back that it was not. What a bunch of kidders. In addition to her five grandcats, she had three of her own whom she dearly loved (Kash, Kallie and Kat).

I truly lost my best friend and I will always love her. Until we meet again!

I would like to give a very special thanks to the staff of the Frontier Cancer facility. We have never met a nicer group of people. They made us comfortable and loved. I am proud to say they are now part of our family.

A graveside service is scheduled for family and friends at 1 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 26, at Sunset Memorial Gardens. All are welcome to celebrate Diana's life with us. There will be a reception at the Moose Lodge on 131Calhoun Lane right after the service.

In lieu of flowers, please send donations to the Frontier Cancer Center, or Rocky Mountain Hospice.